Further explore Central European market through exhibitions

Please briefly introduce the history of BVV Trade Fairs Brno Co.（ “BVV”） and main industries of BVV trade fairs.

Kulis： Thanks to the strategic geographical location of the city of Brno， on the traditional crossroads of trade， the Brno Exhibition Center， established in 1928， developed as one of major European regional exhibition hubs. Nowadays it plays its role as the exhibition venue for the Central European region， reaching out to Slovakia， Hungary， Poland， Austria and Germany. Since 1956， regular trade fairs with the major MSV Brno have been organized here. The major industrial sectors covered by the shows are mechanical engineering， namely machine tools， plastics industry， other industrial technologies， food-processing， packaging and printing， power and electric engineering， wood-processing， furniture industry， agricultural technology and machinery， automotive industry， logistics， and consumer products – namely fashion， shoes and accessories.

What do you think are the features of the exhibition market in Central Europe？ Are the major source countries of exhibitors and visitors different from exhibitions in West Europe？

Kulis： Since the EU entry of the Czech and Slovak Republics， Poland and Hungary the Central European market has grown dynamically. So has the trade with China. The market of CE is a demanding one， requiring high demands on quality， reliability and competitive pricing. It features strong competition from EU countries， domestic production. So Chinese potential exporters to the market have to be well prepared. Besides Czech buyers， professional visitors from Poland， Slovakia， Hungary， Austria， Germany and South-Eastern countries such as Croatia， Serbia， Bulgaria， Romania come to the industrial show MSV， as well as to other trade fairs.

With joint efforts from the governments， China-Central Europe business ties have been strengthened. What do you think are the business opportunities for Chinese companies in Czech？ Please name a few BVV exhibitions that help them enter local market.

Kulis： The industrial show MSV Brno or the AMPER shows are those， at which Chinese companies can present industrial equipment， components and technology. As for consumer products the only one B2B contracting show in CE - the STYL/KABO shows are the platform for clothing， apparel， shoes and other fashion products.

China will participate in MSV International Engineering Fair 2016 as the Partner Country. How was the participation of Chinese companies in MSV in past editions？ What will be the highlights this year？

Kulis： Chinese exhibitors have been taking part in the MSV and other shows increasingly in the last decade. I am very pleased that in 2016， China will be participating for the first time in the status of a Partner Country， occupying about 2000 sqm. A series of promotional events will be organized – such as bilateral China – Czech Business Conference， Technology meetings， cultural and food highlights. The China Pavilion will hopefully showcase the best of China， including high-tech technology of leading Chinese firms. I look very much for the Chinese event in Brno.

BVV also operates Brno Exhibition Center. What is the impact that the digital technology brings to venue operation and event organizing？ What do you think are the key factor（s） for a successful trade show？

Kulis： The key factor for a successful trade fair is the presence of the market key players， or let’s say of the majority of the market players. A smooth and stress less venue operation is a must. The key element of a trade fair as a live marketing tool is the live communication， face-to-face. Digital features such as mobile apps can make your visit at a trade show easier， but they are not a must. The real must that makes the visitor happy is the presence of everybody who is somebody in the market.